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Hard Rain - 3/5: Mill Escape
In the Mill Escape, the weather has begun to deteriorate as the Survivors turn around to bring the fuel back to Virgil's boat. Due to storm clouds blocking out the sun, all the Wandering Witches are now back to normal. This chapter has more Worker Infected than the previous chapter, but fewer Witches. You should try avoid the water as it will cause you to move more slowly. Possibly on account of the weather conditions, the entire chapter is characterised by hypersensitive Infected who spot the Survivors at a distance and attack without undue hesitation. As the Survivors move through the Sugar Mill, the storm will periodically swell for a short amount of time. During this time, the Survivor's vision is shortened and a Horde may attack. Ironically, when the storm kicks up, Witch-like screams can be heard if one listens closely, suggesting the storm has some sort of major, unexplainable effect on them, which causes them to shriek wildly, and evade to seek shelter, explaining why there are much fewer Witches in this level, and the few that still remain are mostly found under some sort of cover (roofs, pipes, etc.). When the storm hits with full force, microphone chat can be severely affected due to the way the audio channels layer. This is likely an intended effect by Valve in order to maintain an aura of realism. While you can still use the microphone, do not expect fellow Survivors to hear you clearly or at all sometimes. This effect is lessened indoors, and can be avoided altogether if Steam chat is used in place of in-game chat. However, this effect was left out of the 360 port of the game. Walkthrough After the journey in the second chapter, the Survivors have the green diesel cans strapped to their backs and are ready to go. However, they find that since entering the safe room the storm has intensified and the return route is subject to widespread surface flooding. On exiting the safe room, it is discovered that the roadway outside is heavily repopulated with Infected. Returning via the cane field (In the cane field WILL be at least one Tank, 99.9% of the time), the Survivors enter the elevator and take it to the sugar mill's top floor. During this traverse, the storm makes it hard to see and hear one another, so it is essential that teams stick together. This advice is especially important in the sugar mill itself since it is all too easy for one player to fall, get snagged or incapped and thus left too far behind the rest of the team. On exiting the elevator, the Survivors have two departure points. Firstly, they can proceed down to the ground floor and leave by the way they entered. Alternatively, they can go to the first floor and jump down onto the roof of the Portakabin office on the left that has a hole in its roof. Either way, after checking out the supplies in the Portakabin, the next bound is to climb the yellow ladder affixed to the side of a nearby silo. Note that this move sets the tone for the rest of the chapter. By staying up on pipes, catwalks and gantries, the Survivors are out of the floodwater and thus enjoy the advantages of faster movement and an improved combat posture than would otherwise be the case at ground level. The route across and through the sugar mill is relatively intuitive; however, navigational difficulty may be experienced by players whose screens suffer from lack of contrast and low image resolution. An easy way to visualise the aboveground route is that players will be following the same zigzag course through the mill that they used when entering, except now it is done above ground level. On exiting the silos, the Survivors drop down onto a catwalk denoted by a portable generator; thereafter, they follow this route past an office containing weapons, grenades and supplies and onward weaving around a couple of large steel hoppers; a tricky section follows which involves sidling along a series of pipes and narrow catwalks. Slipping off due to a careless move or Charger attack is an ever-present risk. After dropping down onto a well-illuminated large pipe, the Survivors go through a hole in the wall, sidle along on the other side and reach a catwalk. After a short distance, a narrow pipe takes the team across to the facing wall. Moving forward, the pipe turns through 90 degrees and ends in midair. But just off to the left is the second Portakabin containing weapons and supplies. After jumping down and taking what they need, the Survivors get back up above the ground via a set of pipes angled upwards (one of the characters will provde a directive message on this point). This is another troublesome area since it is not particularly well lit and it is easy for individuals to lose their footing. On moving forwards, a point is reached where a player can either jump across to a catwalk or sidle around to the right on a suspended pipe to reach this selfsame structure (Note that should players fall off, there is a ladder affixed to a wall on the left which will bring them back up to the right place again). At the end of the catwalk, the first floor of the Ducatel Sugar Mill office block will be visible in front and a character will make a comment to this effect. The Survivors drop down into the offices and then exit to the building opposite containing the safe room. Congratulations! You have completed one of the most challenging chapters in the game and are now ready to start loading The Return To Town map. Tips Survivors should take every possible item from the gas station safe room, as they will not return to it, unlike in previous chapters. Upon exiting the station, take out as many Common Infected as quickly as possible, to save from them attacking when the storm reaches hurricane conditions, which is fatal on advanced and expert difficulties. Then the team should form a single-file line, and quickly follow each other through the field and reach the elevator. Watch it! this cane field is one of the more likely places to spawn a Witch. Try to stay at the middle until you find the pipe; this should make navigating in the sugar field a bit easier. Be careful in the sugar cane field. A Survivor could be abducted by a Jockey, and by the time you realize it, it would be too late; thus, teamwork is vital. Search the shed near the elevator for supplies, and then ride the elevator up. Beware: Since the building counts as shelter, a Witch could be taking refugee inside, so it is crucial you know where she is if you hear crying; however, on strange circumstances, a Witch might spawn in front of the elevator, causing the players to use a bot for bait when a Panic Event comes. Travel downstairs, outside. Check the house to your immediate left for weapons, if you are low on ammo. Head through the mill, being sure to keep high ground, as the water below slows you down significantly. If you fall down into the water, you will move slowly, and if a Tank spawns, it will be diasterous as he moves at regular speed and can catch up with you. Yet another house can be found to the left of the first section of the mill, which is usually rich in supplies. Be sure to check this house, unless you already did it before. Continue forward, through the second part, checking the next house for even more supplies. Travel through here, and beware of any Witches, as they usually spawn on the path you need to take. If you are particularly good at "cr0wning," you could grab a shotgun from any of the before houses, to remove any Witches in your path safely. This, however, is not recommended on expert, of course, as the rate for failure is much higher, and the penalty is much greater, so avoidance remains the best strategy. Also, the shotguns can be Tier 1 shotguns, and if your Tier 2 shotgun is low on ammo, don't try it. Go back into building #1, the one you first entered in the Sugar Mill. Be forewarned: a Witch might spawn near the entrance to get to the other supplies; if so, you will need to have each person go in, and then wait for the Witch to its moaning. If you want to get to the next chapter, you can fall down into the water on the right side from the vent. This, however, makes the Director think you stayed in a place too long. If the Witch spawns elsewhere, check the rooms for any supplies, as there can be Molotovs, Pipe Bombs, Boomer Bile, health kits, or other items in there. Once out of this section of the mill, you are basically home free, but Witch/Tank spawns are still possible, and on very rare occasions, a Witch could spawn directly in front of the safe room door. If such happens, you could attempt to lure one of the AI teammates to it to startle it; however, it is a risky move. Proceed to the safe room, and shut the door. Chapter compete! Congratulations! Notes: *It is vital to stay with your team, especially on Realism or when the storm kicks up. *If you're playing as the Infected, when the chapter is about to start, go hide in the cane field with your team. It's a wonderful place to ambush Survivors as it is very hard for them to see you through the canes and rain. Boomers will find sneaking up to survivors easier, giving them a better chance of survival. Spitters can launch their attack without being seen. The Smoker's tongue is hidden by the cane, so it's harder to follow the tongue and find the smoker. Jockeys and Chargers can separate Survivors by great distances, and along with Hunters, can attack from any direction. Think Jaws: you can see them, but they can't see you. What's more, the rain makes your musical cues and vocals hard to hear at some points. However, Survivor Bots can find you, so if there are any bots, target them so the player can get killed more faster. *For Survivors, try to have rally points if you get lost. Any landmark that can be distinguished is good, such as the bright yellow ladder, the overturned irrigation line, and the pipe in the ground. *An adrenline item is needed, as falling in the water makes you easy prey for any Witches, Tanks or other Infected in the area. *Tanks prove deadly, since if the Tank punches someone off on the "wheat" field side, they will have to wait for the next rescue closet, and cannot be defibrillated. The Tank can also do it on the Sugar Tank side, but the victim can be defibed. *Infected players: Try to knock Survivors into the water! This makes them easier pickings for your common brethren, and for a Tank to get them before they can kill it. Remember that your sight is the Survivor's sight. If a storm comes, you will have blinded sight, making it hard to find Commons to help in your aid or the Witch at peak times. Use this watery advantage to slow Survivors and their would-be rescuers. *If the storm start, and you have a chainsaw, try to use it while standing in one spot, this only usefull in single player Notes * At the start of the level, there is an easy way to get to the elevator without having to walk through the cane field. If you exit the gas station and move all the way to the right side of the cane field, there are some construction barricades you can jump onto. Next to the barricades is a slanting roof that if you do a crouch jump, you can get onto. You can then run to the other side of the roof and jump down, clearing the cane field. Be careful upon your descent as jumping off the roof can take away half your health, whereas walking off can take away only a very small portion. * Oddly, while calling the elevator up triggers a horde, riding the elevator up or down does not. However, it could be argued that the severe storm may be blocking out the noise of the elevator to the horde. * When going through the flooded sugar mill, there are fewer Witches than in the previous chapter. * An odd thing to note is that unlike the elevator in The Hospital, a Survivor can get caught outside the elevator while it is traveling back up. Though this is hard to do and is rare to happen, it traps the unlucky Survivor and they become easy pickings for any Special Infected. However, if this glitch occurs with a bot, they will die when you reach the top. * Oddly, even if the Survivors killed all of the Infected on the way to the gas station, more will somehow still be waiting on the return trip. This is probably because the Survivors had rested, since the setting is much more darker, and that they had probably wandered into the Sugar Mill. It is still unknown why a Tank would want to come. * From this chapter to the end, the Survivors carry the diesel tanks on their back. But when they're shot in the back, they will not set off in fire as all other gas tanks in the game will. Also, if any Survivors have health kits on them, it is not visible. If the Survivor dies, the diesel tank mysteriously disappears. Diesel, however, is not flamable with open oxygen anyways, leaving this accurate. * The Survivors apparently rested during the time they were in the gas station, since the sun was still out and the storm had barely begun before they entered the safe room, while in this level, the storm has worsened. * When walking back through the cane field, occasionally a Tank may spawn at the top of the elevator. If he alerts while up on the top floor before you take the elevator, he may not be able to figure out how to get down to you and may die out of frustration. This also works on Special Infected and the Witch if you can see it. * All of the item spawns in this level are transitioned from The Sugar Mill. This means that weapon spawns will be carried over, along with any throwables, medical kits, defibrillators, ammo packs, pills, or adrenaline shots that were not picked up. Anything that was picked up will not respawn. Dropped items are not carried over. Try to remember where the more valuable item spawns are, especially if you were lucky enough to find laser sights (However, in Versus, you can pick up everything and there will still be new items). * During the starting safe room, there may be a pump shotgun on the ground. This shotgun is still here, even during the Mutations that remove the other weapons (Ex. Four Swordsmen, Chainsaw Massacre, Gib Fest). It's not a permnant spawning weapon though. * It is unknown how the bodies of dead Infected are missing, and also note if you did some sort of "vandalism" on the glass, it mysteriously reappears. * At the point where you can see those Sugar Tanks, oddly enough, you can see a random Special Infected or a Tank there, and will not move until you fire at it. It might be a glitch. * If a Survivor dies in water, and you use defibrillators, you can see that the Survivor had "drowned," since his/her outline is under the water. * Even though the Bots say they cannot see anything, they still have their "supererb" accuracy, even though if dead Infected players watch them, they can notice that their screen is similar to the players. References Category:Chapters Category:Left 4 Dead 2 Category:Hard Rain